The amphipod assemblages of Sabellaria alveolata reefs from the NW coast of Portugal: An account of the present knowledge, new records, and some biogeographic considerations

Abstract

Amphipod assemblages associated with the biogenic reefs built by the honeycomb worm Sabellaria alveolata were studied at two sites (Praia da Aguda and Belinho) along the northwestern coast of Portugal. A total of 3909 specimens were collected, comprising 14 different amphipod species. A first record from the northeastern Atlantic coast was registered here for the species Caprella santosrosai, which was, up to now, recorded only along the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula. A male specimen collected from the Sabellaria-reef located in Belinho allowed an update to the known distribution of C. santosrosai, thus altering its previous status as an endemic Mediterranean species. The most common species collected during the study were Microdeutopus chelifer (n = 1828), Jassa ocia (n = 1426), and Hyale stebbingi (n = 452). Forty-three percent of the total recorded species were encountered in both study sites, whereas the remaining 57 % were restricted to a single site (Belinho). The majority of the collected species (93 %) showed an Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution, confirming the close affinity between eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean amphipod assemblages and the role of the Portuguese coast as a transition zone through which numerous warm-water species, coming from North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea, could enter into the Atlantic and possibly get mixed with species coming from the North Sea and the Arctic, typically having affinity for colder waters.

Inventory and Geographical Affinities of Algerian Cumacea, Isopoda, Mysida, Lophogastrida and Tanaidacea (Crustacea Peracarida)

“…Similarities are more marked between the Western Basin (Northern and Southern areas) and the North-Eastern Atlantic European coasts, the latter having slightly less similarities with the Eastern Basin (Figure 4). A biogeographic affinity between the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic regions has been observed also for other peracarids, amphipods [11,84], and other invertebrate groups: ascidians [85], anthozoans [86], and opisthobranch molluscs [87]. In their study of the assemblage patterns of amphipods associated with the macroalgae Corallina elongata along the north-south and Atlantic-Mediterranean axes across the Strait of Gibraltar, Guerra-Garca et al [11] found that 64% of species have an Atlantic-Mediterranean distribution; these authors considered the Mediterranean-Atlantic axis to be a relatively homogeneous zone, i.e., without a distinct change in the distribution pattern of peracarid assemblages.…”

First Assessment of Plasticizers in Marine Coastal Litter-Feeder Fauna in the Mediterranean Sea

“…They are easy to capture, have a short generation turnover and are cosmopolitan species. The order Amphipoda is dominant in temperate coastal environments; most species are highly specific for a single habitat and display limited dispersal, thus exhibiting a strong genetic cohesion and taxonomic homogeneity [10,11,[36][37][38], which provide spotted information on a regional spatial scale. Further, at the taxonomic level of genus, they are commonly found worldwide and analyses from different localities can be comparable as the co-generic species are ecological equivalents.…”

A taxonomic revision helps to clarify differences between the Atlantic invasive Ptilohyale littoralis and the Mediterranean endemic Parhyale plumicornis (Crustacea, Amphipoda)

“…Due the high connectivity between eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean area, which has already caused a high similarity in the Portuguese and Mediterranean amphipod fauna (Plicanti et al 2016) it can be supposed that the Atlantic Ptilohyale littoralis may have spread into the Mediterranean, or vice versa, Parhyale plumicornis into the Atlantic Ocean.…”